# If someone who shares your name committed a heinous crime would you change your name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933 "2008-03-27T16:59:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/1 "2008-03-27T16:59:57Z")
One of the things that concerns me from time to time is that someone out there who has both my first and last name is going to commit some horrible crime that garners national, perhaps worldwide attention, and upon doing so, people would forever after associate my name with whatever infamous misdeed he commits against society. Imagine what it must have been like for all the innocent Timothy McVeighs out there after Oklahoma City was bombed, or what all the other Ted Bundy’s (a semi-common combination of names, I would imagine) had to deal with once the infamous serial murderer’s name became a household name synonymous with psychopathic killers. Even at the local or regional level I could see where this could become a problem. Also, it doesn’t have to necessarily be a serial killer but it could be the name of a rising celebrity who uses your name as his or her “stage name”. Would you change your name to avoid the inevitable jokes and derision? I think I would eventually have to change my legal name simply because I couldn’t put up with people saying “please don’t kill me, man!” or other stupid shit like that after hearing or learning of my name if it matched up with the name of a notorious rapist or murderer. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/2 "2008-03-27T17:02:42Z")
No. I might change it for other reasons, like if my SO and I ever get the chance to be legally married. But because of what someone else did? No way. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/3 "2008-03-27T17:08:05Z")
No, I had my name first. But please don’t call me Ted. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/4 "2008-03-27T17:09:47Z")
I know three different people with the name “Michael Jackson.” None of them has changed it. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/5 "2008-03-27T17:18:05Z")
Not a heinous crime, exactly, but there were some pretty miserable Monicas out there for a while. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/6 "2008-03-27T17:45:45Z")
[Office Space] Why should I change my name? He’s the one who sucks. [/OS] ---
**Author:** ![Purgatory\_Creek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Purgatory\_Creek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purgatory_Creek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/7 "2008-03-27T17:51:40Z")
I grew up with kind of a misery of a surname, was teased about it and called by obscene variations of it through my short public school tenure, and even that couldn’t make me change it, so I don’t think lame serial killer jokes would convince me to do so. Staring intently at the jokesters until they back away always works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/8 "2008-03-27T17:57:00Z")
In a later notorious [Seinfeld](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masseuse_(Seinfeld_episode)), Elaine is trying to convince her boyfriend Joel Rifkin (the name of a infamous serial killer at the time) to change his name, and is recommending football player’s names, including “OJ.” Eight months later OJ wasn’t a name anyone would want to have. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/9 "2008-03-27T18:44:34Z")
Somebody that shares my name is a psychotic serial killer that thinks he’s the son of the devil. I’m not changing my name because of that. At least he’s not as well known as Ted Bundy. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/10 "2008-03-27T18:52:17Z")
There’s a guy named Tom Kruse who invented some fancy kind of wheelchair – he’s the spokesperson for the TV ads, and my attention is always captured when he introduces himself. So maybe you could get an endorsement deal for Ginzu knives or something. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/11 "2008-03-27T19:00:47Z")
My father and another man have the same name, first and last, and until my father retired two years ago, they lived on opposite sides of the same state. One striking difference though: My dad is/was a pediatrician and this guy is an abortionist, a sleazy one at that. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/12 "2008-03-27T19:25:35Z")
My first/maiden name combination is the same as the lead singer of a somewhat well-known indie rock band. I actually really _like_ the band, too. It still annoyed the crap out of me. But then I got married, and ended up with a less-distinctive surname. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/13 "2008-03-27T20:34:58Z")
Gary Cooper’s original name was Frank, but just as he started his film career there was a sensation murder in Los Angeles committed by another Frank Cooper, so his agent suggested he change his name. She was from Gary, Indiana, so she thought Gary Cooper would work. He said it was a good thing she didn’t name him after his hometown – Helena, Montana. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/14 "2008-03-27T20:35:17Z")
My husband has the same name and is approximately the same age as a pretty well-known guitarist. Except that it must only be his MUSIC that is well-known, and not his face, because Hubby gets asked all the time if he is THAT “John Doe.” No, it’s not really John Doe from X. But that would be pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/15 "2008-03-27T20:38:01Z")
[QUOTE=percypercy] My father and another man have the same name, first and last, and until my father retired two years ago, they lived on opposite sides of the same state. One striking difference though: My dad is/was a pediatrician and this guy is an abortionist, a sleazy one at that. [/QUOTE] A sleazy abortionist? How does one manage that these days, what with the flak jackets and private security details most doctors who perform abortions need? It boggles the mind that they have time to sleaze. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/16 "2008-03-27T20:49:38Z")
I used to work in a small office with a guy named Ed McMahon. Lots of phone time with clients, and to reach those clients we generally had to go through either their main switchboard or their secretary. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “ha ha ha, no, not _that_ Ed McMahon, that would be something, wouldn’t it? I wish he’d call _me_!” This was back in the late eighties when he was strongly pushing the Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, so _everyone_ knew the name and knew what it meant if he was calling you. This Ed was in his late fifties at the time, and I never heard him grumble about it. It would have driven me insane. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/17 "2008-03-27T21:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] A sleazy abortionist? How does one manage that these days, what with the flak jackets and private security details most doctors who perform abortions need? It boggles the mind that they have time to sleaze. [/QUOTE] Not quite today, I guess. In '92, he was sued for botching an abortion. He also spent most of the procedure fondling the nurse with with his shirt unbuttoned. He also stated that nothing was better than “sex and money.” ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/18 "2008-03-27T21:39:02Z")
I might very well change my name. I’d get real tired real fast of jokes about it. But on the other hand, I don’t meet a lot of new people, so I probably wouldn’t hear the lame jokes very often. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/19 "2008-03-27T22:46:20Z")
Harpo Marx’s real name was Arthur. However, it was originally Adolph. I imagine a lot of Adolphs had a crappy time of it after 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933/20 "2008-03-27T22:50:39Z")
There’s a kid at my school right now with the first name Osama. If my math is right, he would have been in Kindergarten when Sept 11 happened. I would have changed the kid’s name. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-who-shares-your-name-committed-a-heinous-crime-would-you-change-your-name/442933.md?page=2)